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North Somerset council tax to rise by 1.5%

The decision was made at last night's [Tuesday] full council meeting. The rise equates to a 33p a week rise for an average Band D property, with an annual bill of £1,164.88 - a rise of £16.95.

Challenging finances are not new to us. We are a low-funded and low-spending authority and have successfully dealt with previous budget reductions.

However, we have never faced such challenging times as now, and they will be with us for years. The scale of change will be significant and the council will look, feel and operate very differently in the future. Despite this, our vision and ambitions remain the same

– Council Leader, Councillor Nigel Ashton

Councillor Ashton added that government grant funding had been reduced by 6.3% for 2013/14 but that the council is still waiting for confirmation of the final settlement. He added that it is because of unfair funding that the decision to raise council tax has had to be taken.

We have considered the proposals put forward in the alternative budgets by opposition groups, each of which suggested a 2% tax rise, and we have also examined the freeze grant the government is offering. However the numbers just don't add up, which is why, with some regret we are making this increase.

– Council Leader, Councillor Nigel Ashton

Full details of the council tax amounts by council tax band and parish can be found here.